Photo Credit: Gillette Stadium by Kenneth C. Zirkel / CC by 4.0
You can snag some unbelievably cheap tickets to BTS shows in the Boston area if you’re quick, with nosebleeds going for as little as $8.
If you’re in the Boston area this week looking for tickets to see BTS at Gillette Stadium, you’re in for a treat. Tickets to shows for August 5 (Wednesday) and August 6 (Thursday) are going as low as $8 for a pair of nosebleed seats. Shows at the same stadium throughout this week are going for as little as $18.
It’s a great deal for anyone in the area, but it’s also very strange given that most dates are still really expensive. Las Vegas actually has some impressively good deals for their BTS run, but nothing at the sub-$20 level.
Photo Credit: StubHub
As TicketNews points out, none of these deals are available on Ticketmaster. Secondary platforms offer the biggest discounts when demand is weak, but there’s no upside when demand is exploding. Unlike Ticketmaster, which sets the initial high price and can capture all of it in the same net, places like StubHub become dumping grounds in the absence of enough demand.
Photo Credit: StubHub
Ticketmaster’s least expensive, visible primary ticket for the same show as StubHub’s $8 nosebleeds was $135.20 after fees. TicketNews adds that its portal displayed “Standard Admission” and “Preferred Seating” offers, but no Ticketmaster Verified Resale Inventory appeared alongside them. That indicates that official resale had been disabled either by the venue or the promoter.
And it’s not just StubHub. SeatGeek showed over 1,700 listings for Wednesday’s concert, with multiple “upper-level” offers at around $24. Thursday’s second show is going for between $25 and $37 across StubHub, SeatGeek, and Ticket Club; Ticketmaster’s lowest price was $98.95.
It’s a massive difference that illustrates why lawmakers targeting only one facet of the ticketing market could have dire consequences at the other end of the spectrum.
Massachusetts legislators are currently considering Amendment 20, which would (in general) prevent concert tickets from being resold for more than 11% of their original price, excluding secondary service fees.
“Crucially, nothing in the proposal limits primary seller pricing,” TicketNews states. “Massachusetts would place price caps, verification burdens, and enforcement risks on independent resale exchanges while leaving original sellers free to set initial prices, utilize dynamic or premium pricing tiers, restrict transfers, and control inventory releases.”
This, they say, leads to an asymmetric market. The upside of owning tickets is hard-capped, while the downside remains unlimited.
It’s an imbalance that could reduce participation in regulated resale markets in the long run. Professional sellers absorb losses when events don’t perform as hoped and depend on gains from high-demand events. Limiting the upside while preserving the downside could reduce the number of sellers, listings, and available transactions through compliant marketplaces.
“Tonight, while Ticketmaster made fans jump through hoops and pay premium prices for BTS at Gillette, ticketholders are offering those same tickets on our members’ resale marketplaces for as low as $15—real proof that competition drives prices down,” said Brian Berry, Executive Director of the Ticket Policy Forum.
“If the Governor and Senator (…) want fans to access cheaper tickets, they should fix the loophole that protects Ticketmaster’s monopoly, not eliminate the deals that Massachusetts fans are getting right now.”
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